Spellsword, a new title from Fire Fruit Forge, is set to be released soon. According to a release announcement and screenshots posted on the Touch Arcade Forums, it should be released sometime soon (possibly within the next month).

After watching the gameplay trailer, it looks to be quite the action-packed hack and slash game. The storyline is based on a “spellsword” with the ability to kill many minions at a time and the champion who picks up the sword. The game has a sort of retro look and the music even sounds 8-bit derived.

Apparently, the mission/quest system was somewhat inspired by Jetpack Joyride. There are quests in different areas but the game still contains an “endless gaming” sort of feel. There will be 60 missions at the release of the game.

Fire Fruit Forge is also the developer team behind hit title, Terra Noctis. Check out the gameplay trailer for Spellsword below.

We sat down with publisher BulkyPix today to talk about a slew of upcoming games for iOS, including The Sandbox, Lightopus, Kung Fu Rabbit, Saving Private Sheep 2, and Gnu Revenge.

Pixowl led off the meeting with The Sandbox, previewed on 148Apps here. It’s exactly what its name implies: an open-ended game with retro-pixel charm and a TON of things to do, play with, and create with. We’re pretty excited about the potential of this little toy/game, and look forward to it’s release, hopefully in May of this year.

Lightopus, developed by Appxplore, comes out this coming Thursday, and has a neon-colored look with some surprisingly subtle gameplay mechanics. Players take on the role of a protozoan-like creature who must gather its babies, while avoiding and attacking enemies with those very same babies. The gameplay feels a lot like fl0w or the initial level of Spore, which isn’t a bad thing, and has a relaxing electronica score. Stay tuned here for a review soon.

Kung Fu Rabbit features a cute but dangerous rabbit with all the right kung fu moves. Previewed here a week or so ago, the game tasks players to take on the role of the aforementioned rabbit, out to save rabbit babies from the evil shadow man. Kung Fu Rabbit looks adorable, but make no mistake, it’s a tough platformer to beat. This combination of tough yet cute could be a winner when it releases March 15.

Saving Private Sheep is getting a sequel, the cleverly named Saving Private Sheep 2. Militant sheep aim their hedgehog at the exposed parts of their nemesis, an evil fox. The mechanics may look familiar; aiming and powering the slingshot full of hedgehog feels a lot like Angry Birds. However, the actual content is more puzzler than physics destruction, as players need to find the best way to pass the hedgehog ordinance from sheep to sheep.

Gnu Revenge is a humorous puzzle game that uses the concept of gravity and acceleration as its main, pardon the pun, thrust. Players shoot a wacky-looking gnu at a dastardly crocodile in a spaceship, saving fellow gnus from some horrendous-yet-unspecified fate, shooting around planetary bodies with various amounts of gravitational pull. Using just the right amount of boost to avoid crashing into planets or flying off into space is tricky yet strangely compelling at the same time. Look for this one to come out at the end of March.

Three other titles, releasing in April and May of this year, include a hidden object game based on the point and click PC game, Runaway, and a darkly mysterious app titled Yesterday, which features a serial killer and the homeless with some beautifully gritty graphics.

We will, of course, be keeping our eye on all these titles as they release. Our thanks to BulkyPix for spending time with us at the conference today.

Being a cute and cuddly critter must really suck. It seems like the more adorable something is, the more likely it’ll be harassed by zombies or space aliens or something. In the case of Kung Fu Rabbit it’s decidedly the latter. An entire village of fluffy bunny children has been abducted and it’s up to the lone remaining Kung Fu master to bring them all home.

Players will jump, slide, wall-jump/slide and beat the tar out of baddies throughout 70 levels. With two different difficulty modes, no less. Carrots can be earned and spent on various accouterments, lending a bit of a personal touch to each individual’s rabbit. Some will no doubt also like to know that Kung Fu Rabbit will support Airplay (720p), iCloud and the iCade.

Release details are still a bit lacking in specificity, but Kung Fu Rabbit should be making its way onto the App Store in early March. There’s also no official word on a price, but it’s going to be universal so at least we know

Holy crap. No, seriously, holy crap. Pixowl Inc, in collaboration with Bulkypix, are poised to unleash something major on the App Store. It might look like a simple toy at first, but make no mistake: The SandBox is packing some seriously intense concepts behind that cute facade.

When The SandBox first caught my attention, I thought it looked like a nifty little pixelated world-building game. In a way, it kind of is. However, I was thoroughly unprepared for just how many different aspects of this created world could be manipulated. Water will flow down hills, erode stone into sand, turn dirt into fertile soil, evaporate in extreme heat and freeze in extreme cold. Flowers and trees can grow. Weather will develop based largely on the environment. Players can even make rudimentary circuits to do anything from heating to creating light.

The SandBox is still very much in beta at the moment, but that’s no reason not to get excited. What’s already implemented is pretty amazing, actually. A lot of specifics are still up in the air, such as the final number of “story” levels (currently around 20), price and release date. It’s kind of a shame because this is all so cool, but then again it’s probably best not to rush things. Although the super-curious or anxious can try to get in to the beta. No guarantees, though. Regardless, be sure to keep an eye out for The SandBox whenever it does hit the App Store.

Egg Ball and BulkyPix are about to release a new platformer on the App Store. Please hold all sarcastic golf claps until I’ve finished. It’s not exactly an under-represented genre, but JAZZ: Trump’s Journey certainly looks to be a stand-out title.

It’s not just the traipsing through New Orleans circa the 1920′s. It’s also the awesomely stylized graphics, as well as the plot (inspired by the life of one Louis Armstrong no less) involving bringing jazz music to life for the first time in human history. Then there’s the way the game’s music will build, layer upon layer, as Trump begins recruiting musicians. There’s so much about this game that sounds awesome.

Of course, we’ll have to wait for it to come out before knowing if it lives up to expectations. It certainly looks like it will, though. Fortunately it won’t be an incredibly long wait. JAZZ: Trump’s Journey is scheduled for a universal January 19th release. No word yet on a price but I’m going to assume that whatever it is, it’ll be worth it.

In a move that’s not entirely unexpected, another popular Facebook title is being brought over to iOS devices. Bulkypix, in collaboration with Kobojo, are adapting PyramidVille for Apple devices. Dubbed PyramidVille Adventure this time around.

This is looking to be more than a mere straight port, however. While the developers have indeed carried the Ancient Egyptian city-building and citizen-gathering mechanics over, they’ve gone and added some new stuff as well. Players will be able to find special items that allow them to build special structures such as the Great Sphinx, as well as take part in a new collection of mini-games that can actually reduce the amount of real-time waiting required for various actions. And, of course, the entire interface has been redesigned for iOS with touch controls and the like.

Those looking to become the next Ramses (or Cleopatra!) will still have to wait a bit before they can experience the 6 million player strong Facebook phenomena on the go. PyramidVille Adventure isn’t set to come out for another month or so, towards the tail end of January. It’ll be free-to-play, and universal, so once it does come out there won’t be much of a reason to avoid it. Aside from the obvious ones like “free time” and “loved ones” anyway.

It’s amazing to think that it’s been almost 20 years since gamers were first tossed into the supremely unfortunate shoes of Lester Knight Chaykin. The brilliant young scientist went and got himself stranded in what might very well be the most hostile alien world ever, and boy was it ever tough to get him to relative safety. Learn from Lester, kids: Don’t mess around with nuclear energy.

For those unfamiliar with the title, Another World (a.k.a Out of the World to US folks) was one heck of a tough adventure game. In fact, it was entirely possible to die (horribly) within seconds of gaining control of the main character. And it didn’t let up much until the credits finally rolled. Poor old Lester seemed to be on everyone and everything’s list.

This month, iOS users will finally be able to experience one of the most beloved (and bemoaned) trial-and-error adventures ever thanks to DotEmu and BulkyPix. However, this isn’t just a straight port. Even long-time fans would do well to check this out once it’s released as there have been a number of interesting additions.

First, there’s the at this point by-the-numbers HD upgrade. Worry not, purists, the visuals can be changed back to their original look at any time. Second, a new “intuitive” touch control system has been developed, but a digital pad option is also available. Third, the music and sound effects have been totally remastered. A bullet point in the press release that admittedly has me a little nervous. Achievements make an appearance as well, naturally. Lastly, and most importantly, there are now three difficulty settings: Normal, Difficult and Hardcore. Difficult is what we old-timers experienced “back in the day,” while Normal is a bit easier and Hardcore is even harder somehow. As someone who has to this day never been able to fight my way to those credits, I’m anxious to try out this so-called Normal mode. Hardcore not so much.

Another World is set to release September 22nd (9/22) for $4.99. That’s $5 I’ll gladly toss into the ether for the chance to play this classic whenever and wherever I want.

Fans of Benoit Sokal’s puzzle/pixel hunter PC games were undoubtedly excited when BulkyPix released the remake of Paradise, retitled The Last King of Africa. The Last King of Africa was only part of the original PC game and was a decidedly simplified version due to the switch to the 1st person view, but it was widely regarded as a good genre experience. The game offered fantastic (but short) 3D cutscenes, well written dialogue, and the occasional puzzle to break up the pixel hunting.

The Last King of Africa 2 makes up the second part of the trilogy, continuing Maurania’s quest to figure out her identity and to find her way home. The game features:

· An amazing game for the iPhone from Benoît Sokal, master of adventure (Syberia)
· Beautiful graphics and impressive cinematics
· A unique atmosphere with dozens of different places to explore
· A story filled with riddles and thrilling encounters
· Many different and unique characters
· An interface perfectly adapted to the iPhone’s tactile screen
· Various riddles and puzzles to solve thanks to the iPhone’s functions
· Hours and hours of entertainment

The Last King of Africa 2 will be coming to the iPhone in November, so be on the lookout. Also, The Last King of Africa will be out shortly in HD (iPad) sometime in early October for $2.99, so don’t miss out on the enlarged first part of the trilogy.